INWOOD — A plan to install a pair of drinking fountains in Isham Park after 30 years without water has hit a dry spell.
The project, which began in May 2014 and was expected to be done by April 2015, is at least two months behind schedule, leaving portions of the green space closed off as summer approaches, Parks Department officials said.
The plan calls for the installation of two drinking fountains, and seven irrigation boxes for use by maintenance workers.
Parts of the park's upper area remain closed in order to store construction materials for the project, which involved tapping into existing water mains and running new pipes underneath the Memorial Bench Circle and the bluestone circle.
Parks Department spokesman Sam Biederman said that a substantial portion of the project has been completed but that the work has been delayed in part due to the discovery and excavation of historic artifacts.
In October 2014, workers uncovered oyster shells while digging a trench for the project, local blog My Inwood reported. Isham Park was formerly the site of the Isham Estate, and work was stopped while the Parks Department consulted with historic experts.
Biederman also said that the drinking fountain being installed near the Park Terrace West entrance to Isham Alley had to be removed after a crack was discovered in the concrete beneath the fountain. A replacement fountain will be delivered this summer, he said.
Residents are anxious to have the work completed.
Veronica Teachout, an actor who was walking her neighbor’s dogs in the park, said that work seems to have slowed down at the site.
“It seems like there’s hardly anybody working here recently,” said Teachout, who has lived in the area for two years.
Her husband agreed.
“It’s been going on since last fall,” Dan Teachout said. “It just seems like it’s taking way too long.”
Biederman said the project should be finished sometime this summer. The agency will determine an exact completion date when it meets with the contractor later this week, he said.
